Over six Indian Premier League (IPL) teams have formally shown interest in participating in The Hundred, an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) 100-ball league. First-round offers were due on Friday, October 18. Indian investors, especially those with IPL teams, make up most of those who have formally expressed interest.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Lucknow SuperGiants have all made bids.
Although there has been no formal confirmation, it is believed that the Dubai-based Capri Global Group-owned UP Warriorz, a club in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and Rajasthan Royals have both submitted bids.
It’s also rumored that Avram Glazer, who co-owns Manchester United and runs the ILT20 Desert Vipers squad, entered the auction with his Lancer Capitals.
Remarkably, neither Punjab Kings nor Royal Challengers Bengaluru—owned by the British company Diageo—made a bid. Both teams chose not to pursue the chance to own a team in the English league.
The owners of the Ahmedabad franchise, CVC Capital, have an office in the UK, but it has not yet been confirmed whether the Gujarat Titans will be participating in the bidding. CVC officials in India don’t know if the UK office has submitted a bid.
There’s a sense that CVC Capital, with its global participation in multiple athletic franchises, would have also expressed interest. Nick Clarry, the operational head of the Gujarat Titans, happens to be headquartered in London, which increases the likelihood that they could participate.
Investors are not required to choose one of the eight teams in The Hundred, as this is just the first round of bidding. That determination will be made in the second and more consequential round, which the ECB indicates may happen following the conclusion of the IPL auction.
In the second stage, commercial talks are also anticipated. According to reports, the ECB is seeking a franchise worth 75 million pounds and 100 million pounds.
All of the teams in The Hundred competition are now owned 100% by the English board, according to the Information Memorandum (IM) that the ECB provided.
Potential team owners may need to invest between 40 million and 50 million pounds to obtain a 49 percent ownership in one of the teams. The second round of bidding will address the valuation.
The remaining 51% will stay in the counties connected to each team so that a joint venture will be formed between the new investors and the corresponding county.
Additionally, investors might buy all or a portion of the counties’ 51%. As per the pertinent section of the IM, “ECB intends to transfer its residual interest in all the teams to their respective hosts, thereby establishing a long-term collaboration between new investors and some of the most renowned cricket establishments globally.”
To give themselves a route to control, hosts will also have the opportunity to sell the new investors a percentage of their team shares as part of this procedure.